Pressure fired combustion chamber



H. M. ARNoLD PRESSURE FIRED COMBUSTION CHAMBER 2 sheeJgs-sneet 1 Oct. 18, 1949.

Filed Feb. 27, 1946 .211| Jly A l |i l 1 l I I JI .l ,4 1 Al l .l

K mmm 29 7 frzyMrizoZf/V JZ 9 B y m- H. M. ARNOLD PRESSURE FIRED COMBUSTION CHAMBER Oct. 18, 1949.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 2'7. 1946 Inventor Manet@ Patented Oct. 18, 1949 uN l 'reo STATE s iran r :orti 2,485,427

PRESSURE FIRED COMBUSIEION Harry M. Arnold; Golden, Colo. Application February 27, 1946;-Serial:Nof.650,410

7 Claims. (Cl. (l0-1457) This invention relates to new and useful improvements vin steam generatorsand more particularly to a pressure-fired combustion chamber so constructed and arranged thatextremely high temperature superheatedY steam and products of combustion are generated and delivered t the cylinder of my steamenginedescribed andillustrated in my co-pending patent application No. 611,117 on Cylinder head for superheated steam engine, now Patent No. 2,464,112. Heretofore superheated steam has been produced by passing steam through tubes heated 'by the fire or products of combustion from the boiler furnace. The practical limit of steam temperatures so'produced is about 1200 F.

The general object of'my invention is to combust gas or liquid fuel directly into the steam from the boiler so that steam temperatures of 1500* F. to 3600F. can bev produced. Several attempts have been made in the past to operate a steam engine by combusting fuel under pressure. These attempts have been unsuccessful because:

1. The products of combustion were mixed with the'water in the boiler and a low temperature'mixture of saturated steamand products of combustion were produced.

2. The steam and products of combustion were conducted through long pipe lines or were subjected to a water cooled surface before they reached the cylinderl of the engine so that the working fluid in the engine'was at a low temperature level and the energy available as work was proportionately little.

I combust my fuel and air under pressure within a refractory lining which conducts heat through it Very slowly thereby retaining the high temperature of the combustion. The high temperature steam and products of combustion are conducted through very short pipes and overhead valves, and onto the piston of the engine. When the engine is operating at high speed, as is common practice nowadays, the steam and products of combustion will be extremely hotwhen they expand behind the pistony of the engine and the energy available is proportionately great.

This invention also consists of certain other.

features of construction andin thearrangement and location of the compressor necessary for supplying compressed air for combustion. The novel features of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specifically pointed out in the appended claims.

Indescribing the invention in detail, reference willlbe had t0 the drawings wherein like numbers denote like or corresponding parts throughout,

` '2 the air is forced from andin which.:

Figure 1 is alongitudinal part sectional view of a double acting engine, ncombustion chamber n and built-inair compressor.

Figures Zand 3 are transverse sectional views taken respectivelyon the lines 2-2 and.3-3 of Figure 1, and l Figure 4 is asimilar view taken on a line 4--4 of vF'igurel and showing a plan view of the lining Yused at the topof thecombustion chamber.

Referring to Figure lof the drawings the cycle of operation is explained. Cold air is drawn r.in through the pipe l and onto the top of the compressor piston `2. On vthe 11p-stroke of the `piston the topsideof the piston 2 and enters the small chamber 3 around Ythe trunk of the piston 2 where it is again compressed bythe piston 2.0r1.' the following down-stroke.

The air isforced lfrom the chamber 3. through the valve 3a andinto' the .pipe line 4. From the pipe'. 4 the air may go to the air storage tank 6 or pass through the pipe line 3D to the valve 29 where its flow to the combustion vchamber 8 is regulated. A very simple type of air atomizing A powdered coal burner may be used in special l cases. y Tliear and fuel are mixed within the tube of the'burner 5 and are blown into the combustionchamber 8 where ignition of the mixture is started by an electric firing plug I'. The characterof 'the flame can be observedthrough the sight tube l2.

When the fuelL vburnerSl is first started it may be desirable t0 expel the vproducts of combustion to the atmosphere.' A relief Ovalve 5a is provided at aconvem'ent point for this purpose. A s soon as thecombustion 'is observed to be` satisfactory the valve 5a' can be` closed and the engine 26 started. For-a little while the engine will operate as a hot air engine.. The engine 26 is of water cooled construction and includes apiston (not shown)` connected to the piston 2 of the compressor by'a rod 26a. The compressor 2 will supply air for combustion and'gr'adually recharge the storage'tank '6 Vforreserve. Whenthe engine 26 becomes hot 'and' the refractory lining 9 becomes white ho't,l vheat will be imparted to the water in the" jacketing system VI3 of the engine andsome heat will pass through the boiler shell I6 and evarnira'tethe' water in the jacketing system I5y ofn the 4boiler I1. The saturated steam produced in 'tlie water jacket fwill rise to the dome I9 and will enter the pipe 20. A valve 20a will throttle the ilow of steam to the head 2Ia where it is distributed radially to the channels 2| in the refractory lining 9. The steam is conducted through the long slender passage ways 2| in the refractory 9 to the lower part of the combustion chamber 8 where it issues from small openings 22 into the combustion chamber 8 and mixes directly with the products of combustion. The steam will be partly superheated when traveling through the channels 2| in the refractory lining 9 so that it will be dry and hot when it enters the combustion chamber 6.

The high temperature mixture of superheated steam and products of combustion pass through very short pipes 23 to the valve chests 24 of the engine 26. The circulating system I3 is provided around the end portions of the cylinder 26 and also in the heads 25 as will be seen in my said Patent No. 2,464,112.

A valve Illa in the water pipe line Ill regulates the flow of water to the circulating system I3 of the engine and through the pipe I 4 into the boiler I1 where it mixes with the water in the water jacket I5. The desired water level may be maintained in the water glass |'8. A pop-off valve I8a is provided in the -boiler shell Il to relieve excess steam pressure should it arise.

In order to afford an even distribution of heat to the two pipes 23 the lower pipe 23 draws its steam through the refractory tube 9a from a point about half-way between the two pipes 23.

Details of the channels 2| can be seen in Figure 2. Figure 4 isa top View of the refractory head Zia showing the radial passage ways 2lb which connect with the passage ways 2| of Figure 2.

The engine piston, (not shown) is alternately pushed from one end of the cylinder to the other end and the used steam is exhausted into the exhaust 28. The pipe I' passes through the exhaust 28 so the waterv entering the circulating system I3 is hot.

The jacketing system 3| of the compressor should be supplied with cool water to help cool the air being compressed so that less work is required to supply the compressed air. When very high temperature steam is used in the engine about 1 horsepower out of 6 produced by the engine will be required to compress the air used for combustion.

The temperature of the steam and products of combustion going to the engine may be governed in two ways:

1. The refractory lining 9 may be made thick so very little heat will be conducted through to the inner boiler shell I6 thereby evaporating very little water in the leg I5.

2. The throttle valve 20a can be used to govern the flow of steam to the combustion chamber 8 allowing the surplus steam to pop off to the atmosphere through the valve |8a.

The refractory lining 9 and the refractory head 2|a must be made a little smaller than the inside of the shell I6 to allow for expansion when it becomes very hot.

This apparatus for generating high temperature and high pressure steam can be made very light and compact as compared with modern boiler plants. The entire boiler I1 and the engine 26 should be neatly encased in asbestos or other heat non-conducting material to` avoid loss of heat to the atmosphere.

The lower part of the engine is enclosed in an oil case 32 and the connecting rod is equipped with double row roller bearings 33 while two bearings of single row rollers 34 are provided for the crank shaft 36. The eccentric 35 actuates the valves of the engine 26 throughout the pitman rod 35a.

Like any steam engine this engine has a reserve ofenergy stored in the water in the boiler I'l and in heat energy stored in the refractory lining 9 so that the engine will run very smoothly when used in direct drive where gears or other driving mechanism is to be eliminated. This steam engine will deliver more energy from a gallon of fuel oil or crude oil than is now obtained with the Diesel engine.

While the drawings show the invention applied to a reciprocating engine of the type shown, it will of course, be understood that the high temperature steam generator can be applied to the single-acting piston engine as well as to engines having two or more cylinders made together.

It is to be understood that changes may be made in the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts provided such changes fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Having described my invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A steam boiler comprising a cylindrical shell supported in an upright position and having a water jacket therein open at its top for communication with the top of the shell, a refractory lining in the boiler closed at one end and forming a combustion chamber in the shell, a steam chamber in the top of the shell, longitudinal steam passages communicating at their upper ends with the steam chamber, ports in the lining connecting the lower ends of the passages with the combustion chamber to feed steam to the combustion chamber, a burner in the combustion chamber, and an outlet leading from the combustion chamber.

2. A steam boiler comprising a cylindrical shell supported in an upright position, a refractory lining in the shell closed at its top to form a combustion chamber in the shell, a water jacket between the walls of the lining and the walls of the shell and having an open top to provide a steam chamber in the top of the shell above the top of the combustion chamber, vertical steam passages leading from the steam chamber to the lower portions of the combustion chamber, a burner in the bottom of the combustion chamber, and an outlet leading from the combustion chamber.

3. A steam boiler comprising a cylindrical shell supported in an upright position, a refractory lining in the shell closed at its top to form a combustion chamber in the shell, a water jacket between the walls of the lining and the walls of the shell and having an open top to provide a steam chamber in the top of the shell above the top of the combustion chamber, vertical steam passages in the vertical walls of the lining leading from the steam chamber to the lower portion of the combustion chamber, a burner in the bottom of the combustion chamber, and an outlet leading from the combustion chamber.

4. A steam boiler comprising a cylindrical shell supported in an upright position, a refractory lining in the shell closed at its top to form a combustion chamber in the shell, a water jacket between the walls of the lining and the walls of the shell and having an open top to provide a Steam Chamber in the top of the shell above the top 0f the combustion chamber, vertical steam passages in the outer Vertical walls of the lining leading from the steam chamber to the lower portion of the combustion chamber, a burner in the bottom of the combustion chamber, and an outlet leading from the combustion chamber.

5. A steam boiler .comprising a cylindrical shell supported in an upright position, a refractory lining in the shell closed at its top to form a combustion chamber in the shell, a water jacket between the walls of the lining and the walls of the shell and having an open top to provide a steam chamber in the top of the shell above the top of the combustion chamber, vertical steam passages between the lining and the waterjacket communicating at their lower ends with the combustion chamber, a tube extending from the top of the lining to the steam chamber to admit steam to the passages, a burner in the bottom of the combustion chamber, and an outlet leading from the combustion chamber.

6. A steam boiler comprising, a double walled cylindrical shell, the space between the walls forming a water jacket, the inner wall having a top closure spaced from the top of the outer wall, a, refractory lining in the shell, closed at one end, forming a combustion chamber, the space between the closed ends of the inner and outer walls of the shell providing a steam chamber, the lining having longitudinally extending grooves in its outer surface, whose ends are in communication with the steam chamber and with the combustion chamber, said grooves forming passages for steam from the steam chamber to the combustion chamber, and a burner positioned in the combustion chamber at the lowerl end thereof, there being at least one outlet communicating the combustion chamber with the outside oi the shell.

7. A steam boiler comprising a cylindrical shell, a refractory lining in the shell closed at one end to form a combustion chamber in the shell, a water jacket between the walls containing the lining and the walls of the shell and having an open space te provide a steam chamber over the top of `the wall enclosing the combustion `chamber, a steam passage connecting the steam chamber with the closed end of the refractory lining, longitudinal steam passages in the refractory lining leading from the closed end tothe burner end of the combustion chamber, inlets at one end communicating said passages with the combustion chamber, a burner in one end of the combustion chamber and at least one outlet communicating the combustion chamber with the outside of the shell.

HARRY M. ARNOLD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 886,199 Flaig Apr. 28, 1908 1,047,152 Benedict Dec. 17, 1912 1,243,812 Clutter Oct. 23, 1917 2,140,085 Maina Dec. 13, 1938 2,402,803 Chandler June 25, 1946 

